How to use eye drops with shaky hands

To use eye drops with shaky hands, steady the bottle against your face instead of holding it in the air. Lie down or tilt your head back, rest the side of your hand on your forehead or cheekbone, pull the lower lid down with your other hand, and squeeze gently. Bracing turns your head and hand into one unit, so a tremor moves both together and the drop still lands.

Why bracing works

When the bottle floats above the eye, any shake gets magnified by the distance and the drop lands on your cheek. When the hand holding the bottle rests on your face, the bottle and your eye move together. That single change does more than anything else on this list.

It also keeps the tip from coming down onto the eye, which is the other worry with shaky hands. The label’s handling line says: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. A braced hand holds the tip at a fixed, small distance above the eye, so it doesn’t touch the lashes or lid.

Step by step, lying down

Lying down is the steadiest position because your head doesn’t move and gravity points straight into the eye.

• Wash and dry your hands.
• Lie on your back on a bed or couch, without a pillow or with a flat one, so your face points at the ceiling.
• Hold the bottle in your dominant hand and rest the side of that hand, or your little finger, on your forehead or the bridge of your nose.
• With your other hand, gently pull the lower lid down to make a small pocket.
• Look up toward your forehead, away from the bottle.
• Squeeze gently until one drop falls into the pocket.
• Close your eye softly for a moment rather than blinking hard.

How to make eye drops easier sitting up

If lying down isn’t practical, sit in a chair with a high back so you can rest your head against it, or tilt your head back against a wall. Plant the elbow of your bottle hand on a table or your chest to take the weight off your arm. A tired arm shakes more, so supporting it from below helps as much as bracing at the top.

• Rest your bottle hand on your cheekbone, below the eye, instead of the forehead if that feels steadier.
• Use the index finger of your other hand to pull down the lower lid, and rest that hand’s thumb on your cheek for extra stability.
• Hold the bottle with both hands if one hand isn’t enough, bracing both wrists on your face.
• Try a fist-under-the-chin position: rest your elbow on a table, chin on your fist, and tilt your head back slightly.

Using a mirror

A mirror helps some people and makes it worse for others, because the image is reversed. If you try it, use a magnifying makeup mirror laid flat on a table and look down into it, holding the bottle above your eye. You can see where the tip is without having to judge distance in a reflection. If you find yourself aiming in the wrong direction, skip the mirror and rely on bracing.

Grip and the bottle

Shaky hands sometimes squeeze too hard and get two or three drops at once. Hold the bottle between your thumb and two fingers, near the bottom, rather than in a fist. Practice squeezing out one drop at a time over a sink so you know how much pressure it takes.

Quell’s bottle is .33 fl oz (10 mL). Warming it in your hand for a minute before use can make the squeeze feel easier, and it keeps a cold drop from making you flinch. Keep it stored as the label directs: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F).

Knowing the drop went in

With shaky hands, it’s easy to wonder whether you hit the target. A cool sensation in the eye, a little liquid along the lower lid, or a brief blur usually means it landed. Liquid on your cheek with nothing in the eye means it missed. Our guide on how to tell if an eye drop went in goes into more detail.

If it missed, try again with one more drop; you don’t need to compensate with extra. The label’s directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.

Asking someone to help

There’s nothing wrong with having someone else put the drops in, especially if your hands are worse at certain times of day. A partner, family member or friend can stand behind you while you sit with your head tilted back, or kneel beside you while you lie down. Our guide to putting eye drops in someone else’s eyes is a good thing to share with them.

Timing helps too. Many people find their hands steadier at some points of the day than others; if mornings are harder, use drops later in the day within the label’s directions.

When to check in with a professional

A pharmacist can suggest drop aids that hold the bottle steady over your eye, and can show you technique in person. If your eye hurts after a drop, or your vision changes, stop and follow the label: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours. The full label is on our Drug Facts page.